Customer Service, Government Style

Once an afterthought, government customer service is now closely watched around the globe.

Who's the best at customer service? This question is asked often in the business world primarily because many company philosophies are based on how well they serve and retain their customers, and how well they keep their profits flowing. Knowing who's the best and how they do it is highly sought-after information.

Until recently, customer service had less priority in government - no one attempted to rank the best or learn how to best serve citizens. This isn't the case today, however. Citizen-centricity way is the new mantra, and the public sector is plowing huge investments of time, labor and taxpayer money into the issue.

And the stakes couldn't be higher. Citizen demand for quality services is at an all-time high, and willingness to pay for these services through taxes and fees is dropping. At the same time, citizen trust in government continues to erode.

With more than 20 years of experience covering state and local government, Tod previously was the editor of Public CIO, e.Republic’s award-winning publication for information technology executives in the public sector. He is now a senior editor for Government Technology and a columnist at Governing magazine.